He did veto 94 bills but he nixed them on their merits rather than as part of a promised blanket rejection of most of the Legislature’s work of the past year.

The Big Five — the governor and the top leaders of the Republican and Democratic members of the legislature — were still meeting as of 4:15 p.m. in an effort to reach an accord. The governor has until midnight tonight to sign or veto the 704 bills that have been sent to his office.

As expected, the governor signed bills that would have created financial hardships in the state if they had been vetoed, including Senate Bill 19 authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, which will establish links between student achievement data and teacher and principal data. It is a requirement of federal stimulus dollars in the federal program called “The Race to the Top.”

Schwarzenegger also signed bill that implements a number of reforms in the state prison system designed to save about $280 million.

Among East Bay legislators bills that were signed into law include state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier’s Senate Bill 147, which creates career technical courses at the Californa State University system and Senate Bill 702, which requires personnel in health clubs’ child care centers to follow guidelines designed to shield children from pedophiles.

He also signed a bill by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, that will place on the Web employers’ workers compensation insurance status. It will allow workers to know whether or not a potential employer has insurance.

Read on to see the full legislative update from Schwarzenegger’s office: